[Excelsior Springs, Missouri?]—Has received his letter, which was forwarded to him while he was at St Louis. Discusses their discomfort in their respective situations and their attachment to Cambridge. Is determined not to return to the seminary if possible, and is considering teaching in a preparatory school. Has finally met an American family that reassures him. He became acquainted with them through the eldest son, John Farrelly, who is at St Louis University. Gives an account of the family and their home in rural Missouri, referring to their odd combination of poverty and elegance, the curious personalities of the family members and their black servant, the song ‘Strange Fruit’ sung by the children, and to the number of ‘maniacs’ in the district. John Farrelly, who is, he thinks, the first American with whom he has felt in complete sympathy, may go to Cambridge in a few years. Refers to John Pick of Boston College as an example of an affected New England type. Thanks Smith for his comments on George Eliot. Is considering, in an extreme case, returning to England and joining the Quaker ambulance unit. A Jesuit friend [McCabe] has recommended that he stay away from the seminary. The latest Scrutiny seems ‘rather stock stuff’. Points out that those undergraduates who were most desirous to have Smith back were not setting him up in opposition to Leavis, but rather as the only person who could supply Leavis’s acknowledged deficiencies. Encourages him not to worry about his faith.
Monticello College, Alton, Illinois.—Has left the seminary and is now teaching ‘Criticism of the Novel’ at a girls’ college. Describes the setting of the college and the character of the girls and staff. Is reading to fill the time, but has read nothing for over a year which has made a substantial contribution to his life. Does not plan to stay at Monticello for more than a year. Discusses his mixed feelings towards the Church and the seminary. His friend at St Louis [McCabe] has suggested he might do better at St Anselm’s Priory in Washington, DC. McLuhan’s ‘performance’ seems increasingly inadequate, but on the other hand the Church seems ‘horrible’. Something of his feelings towards it are expressed by Orozco’s mural ‘Christ Destroys His Cross’. Is going to ask Leavis whether John Farrelly might get a scholarship at Downing. Has had news from Gordon and is delighted to hear about Father Hilary [see 1/91].
Excelsior Springs, Missouri.—Refers to the interruption in their correspondence and explains why he has not written. Expresses his discontent with the Church, which he supposes is connected to his hatred of the war, and discusses his objection to his friend ‘Sergius’ [John] Farrelly’s decision to join the merchant marines in the hope of achieving a ‘personal catharsis’. Has just returned from Santa Fe, where he spent a year painting, while living in an adobe house in the orchard of the painter Olive Rush. Has had an exhibition, but will probably not paint much more, as his main object was to familiarise himself with the medium in order to become a better critic. Explains why he thinks that, with the possible exception of Eliot, the greatest artistic achievements today must be in painting rather than literature, contrasting Rouault with Mauriac and Picasso with Hemingway, and discusses his view of literature as ‘the most human of the arts’, with reference to Timon of Athens and Koestler’s Darkness at Noon. Reflects that this unplanned digression on literature was perhaps prompted by the memory of their conversations together, which nothing has replaced, except perhaps his friendship with Farrelly, whose qualities he reiterates. He himself will probably have to go into a conscientious objectors’ project soon, a prospect he does not look forward to. Dennis, who is no longer living with Wilfrid and Vera [Mellers], is engaged to a girl ‘with the incredible name of Daisy Chainy [sic]’. Gordon is in Egypt, Edward Morley and Remi Preston are teaching, and Birch Moody is in Africa. Urges him to write.
415 West 115th Street, Apartment 21, New York City.—Is anxious at not hearing from him. Having failed the physical examination for the conscientious objectors’ camp he has come to New York, mainly for the galleries. There he has made the acquaintance of an actor named Kostya Hubbard, and Father Gardiner, now literary editor of America, lives nearby. Gives an account of John Farrelly’s visit to the Leavises at Cambridge. Wilfrid and Dennis have quarrelled slightly, and Birch Moody is still in Africa. Is thinking of getting a job with a fashionable magazine. Is just about to meet the wife of the poet George Barker [Jessica Barker] and is meeting Djuna Barnes next week.